Chapter 169: Meeting the Parents?
Even though Li Mu didn’t really feel like cooking lunch anymore, since Ren Tianyou was still waiting and she had already bought a bunch of ingredients, it would be a waste not to cook. So she continued.
Pork rib soup, stir-fried bok choy, sweet and sour pork, and steamed egg custard.
Just three dishes and a soup, but it still took her over an hour to finish everything.
By the time all the food was on the table, it was already 12 noon, just the right time to eat.
Ren Tianyou sat at the table with an excited look. Before Xiao Jing could even bring over the rice, he had already picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a piece of meat.
“This tastes great,” he said, his eyes lighting up. He looked into the kitchen and asked Li Mu, who was washing the pots, “How come I’ve never seen you cook before?”
“Too lazy.”
That answer was simple and convincing.
He shook his head with a helpless smile. “Well, now that you’re a girl, cooking more often isn’t a bad thing.”
“......”
Xiao Jing brought over a bowl of rice and set it in front of Ren Tianyou. He looked at her more closely, then frowned and asked, “Are you sure she’s not your little sister who came back to life?”
“Came back from the dead?”
Li Mu walked out of the kitchen and sat down at the table. She glanced at Xiao Jing, who was happily scooping rice for her, and said, “Do you really think my sister would ever be this helpful?”
He had to admit that was true.
Even though Xiao Jing looked almost exactly like Li Mu’s younger sister, her personality was just too different.
Besides, someone coming back from the dead and returning to their family… that kind of thing only happens in movies or books, right? In real life, even if ghosts exist, it’s hard to believe someone could come back after being dead for years.
Probably?
He tried to convince himself of that and lowered his head to keep eating.
Li Mu’s cooking was actually pretty good. Even if it wasn’t restaurant-level, it was at least decent for a home-cooked meal.
But she didn’t seem very happy.
“You looked happy before cooking. What’s wrong now?” Ren Tianyou asked between bites.
“The food didn’t turn out as good as I expected.”
Li Mu answered with a blank face.
Meanwhile, Xiao Jing was in the kitchen cooking her own kids’ steak. The ones from the supermarket were pre-marinated, so they didn’t need any special cooking skills, pretty much anyone could make them taste okay. Li Mu just let her mess around with it.
Maybe because it had been a while since they last met, Ren Tianyou had a lot to talk about. As they ate, he chatted about many things, from Li Mu’s gender situation to school life, and then even brought up her relationship with Yu Fan.
Eventually, the conversation came back to Xiao Jing...
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Everyone in the room froze for a second and looked toward the entrance. Then Xiao Jing jumped off her chair and happily ran to open the door.
“Brother Yu Fan? I thought you said you weren’t coming?”
“I had a few bites and then rushed over in a taxi.”
Yu Fan took off his shoes, smiling, and rubbed Xiao Jing’s head. “Where’s Li Mu?”
“In the dining room eating. She looked really upset when she heard you weren’t coming.”
“Really?”
He immediately looked toward the dining area, where he saw Ren Tianyou staring at him while Li Mu quietly drank soup with a spoon, head down.
“Brother Tianyou!” Yu Fan put on a bright and cheerful smile and walked over. “You’re here too?”
“Why? I’m not allowed to be here?”
The moment the two met, the tension in the room instantly rose.
Ren Tianyou really didn’t like Yu Fan. He was too good-looking, had a nice personality, this kind of guy looked like a player for sure. Even if he wasn’t one now, he probably had lots of girls chasing him, and it’d be easy for him to fall into temptation someday.
Besides, Li Mu had only recently found out she was a girl and was still confused about herself, and this guy already made a move? So shameless!
As a veteran “bad boy,” Ren Tianyou was confident in his judgment.
Yu Fan didn’t care about the cold tone. After saying hi, he quickly turned his eyes toward Li Mu.
Just as Li Mu finished drinking her soup and looked up, she and Yu Fan met eyes for about two seconds, then both quickly looked away.
“There’s still some food left, and there’s rice in the pot too.”
“I’ll get the rice and chopsticks!” Xiao Jing dashed into the kitchen like the wind.
Yu Fan then sat down comfortably in the only chair left, and started gazing lovingly at the side of Li Mu’s face.
Xiao Jing soon came back with a bowl and chopsticks.
“Thanks.”
Yu Fan smiled and patted her head. He picked up the bowl and grabbed a piece of pork rib from the soup to try. After just a bite, he praised it.
“This is really good, better than the food at the restaurant I went to earlier.”
Ren Tianyou held back a sarcastic comment.
He had to admit, Li Mu’s cooking was above average, but saying it was better than a restaurant? That just proved Yu Fan was a hopeless simp, his taste buds probably weren’t even working.
“Really?” Li Mu asked flatly.
“Of course! It’s much better than what most people cook. You could almost be a professional chef!”
“Don’t exaggerate.”
Li Mu lowered her head, not looking like she wanted to respond. But Yu Fan still noticed the slight smile at the corner of her lips.
Just as he was about to keep praising her, Ren Tianyou couldn't take it anymore.
“When did you two meet?”
Yu Fan suddenly sat up straight. He knew Ren Tianyou was Li Mu’s neighbor and close to her like an older brother.
This felt just like meeting the parents!
He thought for a moment and said, “We met in September this year…”
Then he realized that sounded too recent, barely two months ago. So he quickly added, “But we’ve been at the same school for three years.”
“Heh.”
Now Ren Tianyou was sure of it. This guy had noticed Li Mu right when she started getting prettier. Otherwise, why didn’t they meet in school earlier? And now that she looks better, suddenly they’re talking? Clearly, he took advantage of the timing.
“How many girlfriends have you had before?”
“I’ve never had a girlfriend.”
“Oh~”
The classic excuse of a player.
“Then…”
“Brother Tianyou! Just eat your food, okay?” Li Mu finally looked up and gave him a sharp glare.
Ren Tianyou froze for a second, then looked down and ate his food with a sad expression.
Xiao Mu’s never spoken to him so harshly before...
He realized Li Mu might already be falling for this guy.
At this point, there was nothing more he could say. He could only wait until life taught her some hard lessons before she woke up from it.
Just thinking about it made his chest hurt.
After finishing his meal, Ren Tianyou originally wanted to stay and chat with Li Mu about the future, but seeing how things were now, he figured she probably didn’t want him there.
Plus, it was oddly cold in the room. Even though he was wearing a light jacket, he was still shivering.
Once Ren Tianyou left, Yu Fan finally asked, “He... doesn’t have a thing for you, right?”
“No.” Li Mu shook her head.
“Then, this afternoon, should we…”
“You should practice singing with Xiao Jing. And try asking Liu Shenglong what his obsession really is.”
She looked toward Liu Shenglong, who was sitting in the living room.
It was obvious that his ghostly body was shaking slightly, like he was trying very hard to hold something back.
“I don’t think he can hold on much longer.”
If she and Yu Fan didn’t help, Liu Shenglong might leave this place and lose his sense of right and wrong. He could become desperate and do anything to fulfill his obsession.
If that obsession ran too deep, he might even turn into a dangerous and mindless ghost.